Fervor building for first dragon-boat race

Colorful dragon-headed boats loaded with people paddling to the beat of drums, hundreds of spectators on land and water, vendors and music, decorated team tents and hundreds of spectators will combine for a rowdy day on Flathead Lake.

That’s what’s expected for the first Montana Dragon Boat Festival on Sept. 8.

“It’s going to be a fast and furious day,” said Rob Brisendine of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau during a dragon boat demonstration at Flathead Lake Lodge Thursday.

 The event is expected to attract 54 22-person teams, or about 1,100 participants, plus friends, family and spectators. They will be coming from Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Washington, Alberta and British Columbia.

Of the 54 teams, 39 will be from Montana and most of them local. The teams will have 46-foot dragon boats with a dragon head at the bow and a dragon tail at the stern. They will be manned by 20 paddlers, a steerer and a drummer.

At all times during racing, there will be nine boats with 198 participants in front of Flathead Lake Lodge, in three-boat heats with the winners advancing to race other winners.

 The races cover a 500-meter stretch, a distance that takes an average of about three minutes to complete.

At the demonstration, the Whitefish Credit Union team manned the Snappy Sport Senter boat, learning how to board the vessel, how to paddle in sync and how to stabilize the boat. Moving smoothly and swiftly is more difficult than one might think.

“It’s going to be a fun event, but we’re here to win,” said James Ness, senior vice president at Glacier Bank.

Ness said bank employees filled the roster so quickly for a boat the bank is sponsoring that he had to make arrangements for a second boat that also was occupied with a team quickly. The team names are “Dragon for Dollars” and “Monster Greenbacks.”

“This is going to bring a lot of people to the valley,” Ness said. “I think people will be surprised at what this event looks like in September.”

Organizers anticipate 2,200 spectators who will be watching either from boats on the lake or from an island in front of the lodge.

Janet Clark, owner of the Kalispell Grand Hotel and chair of the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, said it’s estimated that out-of-market participants and spectators are expected to spend nearly $500,000 in the valley.

Donna Townley, an economist with the University of Lethbridge who is involved with the organizing effort, said she was involved with recruiting 10 teams from Alberta and British Columbia.

“I’ve got more waiting to come next year,” she said, noting that teams from Calgary and Edmonton didn’t have enough notice for this year’s event. “Next year, I’ll go for 20 teams.”

Townley said dragon boat racing is very popular in Alberta and B.C. In its sixth year, a Lethbridge dragon boat festival held on Henderson Lake attracted 65 teams on July 6.

Organizers of the Montana Dragon Boat Festival expect participation to grow in years to come, possibly to 100 teams within five years.

“Our hope is ...that this event will be here long after us,” Brisendine said.

The event is organized by the Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau, which teamed up with Dynamic Dragon Boat Racing LLC, a producer of dragon boat races around the country. The company has supplied the dragon boats and gear and will lead training and races the day of the festival.

Over the next month, there will be training at Somers Bay on two dragon boats that are already in the Flathead Valley. On Sept. 8, racing gets under way at 8:30 a.m. and is expected to continue through 4 p.m.

The Flathead Lake Dragon Bash will start at 5:30 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell, featuring entertainment from acclaimed country musician Trevor Panczak and his band Rough Stock.

The dragon boat races are free for spectators, and tickets to the Dragon Bash are $35, available at Western Outdoor in Kalispell.